Jet Hammer
| Jet Hammer | |
|---|---|
 The mechanical parts of King Dedede's hammer can be seen when using or charging this special move. | |
| User | King Dedede |
| Universe | Kirby |
Jet Hammer (ジェットハンマー, Jet Hammer) is King Dedede's down special move.
Overview[edit]
If the player holds down the control stick and the special-move button simultaneously, they can charge up his hammer. The player can even walk around and jump while the hammer is being charged, but they can't save the charge and cannot cancel the move, unlike most other charging moves. Once it reaches full charge, the player can hold the charge indefinitely, but it will cause one percent of damage to King Dedede every second until the player releases the attack. However, once Dedede's damage is high enough, damage from holding a fully charged Jet Hammer will no longer occur.
In Super Smash Bros. Brawl[edit]
Fully charged, the hammer deals massive damage and knockback, and the last few stages before fully charged deal even more knockback. However, despite its extreme power potential, Jet Hammer is considered Dedede's worst move in Brawl and is barely ever used in competitive play, with it having almost no practical use. Jet Hammer charges up slowly, and requires considerable amounts of charging before it reaches power levels beyond Dedede's other KO moves (which can all be completed before Jet Hammer charges enough to reach their power). While Dedede can move and jump around while charging Jet Hammer, he moves and jumps too slowly for it to make it useful, and any opponent can easily outmaneuver a Dedede charging Jet Hammer. Additionally, Jet Hammer has poor reach and surprisingly small hitboxes, which when combined with the aforementioned very slow movement and long charging time, makes it incredibly difficult to land the move on an opponent that isn't incapacitated. To make matters worse, it has 18 frame startup just on the charge, and a Dedede player has to wait 11 frames for the hitboxes to actually come out (although at full charge it comes out 3 frames sooner on Frame 9). Since it has high ending lag (FAF of 60 on release if not fully charged, 70 if it is) and cannot be cancelled, combined with the aforementioned movement and reach issues, along with it having transcendent priority and no armor whatsoever, Dedede is completely defenseless when using the move. This gives opponents a virtually free punish if Dedede tries to use the move while they're not incapacitated.
The final nail in the coffin is that while Jet Hammer can be incredibly powerful, fully charged it's still not as powerful as Dedede's uncharged forward smash and pales in comparison to a charged one. Additionally, while Dedede's forward smash has extremely long start-up lag, it'll still come out well before Jet Hammer reaches anywhere near fully charged, and unlike Jet Hammer, it has massive reach and rather low ending lag, along with a sourspot that extends its reach farther. This makes the move much less punishable and actually easier to land. As such, whether it be capitalizing on an incapacitated opponent or trying to go for an especially early KO, Jet Hammer is obsolete to Dedede's forward smash, and the other mentioned issues keep it from being any sort of weaker but more reliable KO move. Unless the player wants to mock an opponent whose shield is broken, there is never any real excuse to ever use Jet Hammer in high level play.
There is a glitch that increases the effectiveness of this move by allowing King Dedede to skid across the stage at incredible speeds while charging it. This is done tilting the control stick in either left or right direction just barely enough to allow Dedede to move. If done properly, Dedede will continuously take only the first step in his walking animation and move across the ground at an incredible speed, which can be seen here. However, the extreme precision this requires to maintain beyond a split second makes it beyond the technical ability of human players, and leaves it as something only seen in tool-assisted demonstrations.
Damage[edit]
Unlike other chargeable moves like Eruption, Jet Hammer's damage does not increase in stages, but rather in a continuous fashion which includes decimal percentages. The damage follows the formula d (.15 × f), where d is base damage (11% for grounded, 10% for aerial) and f is the number of frames charged between 2 and 119; from frame 120 onward the max damage is used, which is 30% for grounded and 28% for aerial. As such, the below table states general kill percents at different levels of charge in Brawl, and is not an exact guide. Like most chargeable moves, the fully charged state is not the most powerful, though it deals the most damage.
In Super Smash Bros. 4[edit]
Jet Hammer returns as King Dedede's down special. It has been heavily buffed from Brawl, where it now has much greater range, a much larger hitbox, and the full charge is more damaging on the ground, dealing up to 38% damage, and can KO below 50% when near stage edges (though it still deals less knockback overall than the weaker charge levels, due to having only 5 BKB and 66 KBG). The full charge also deals high shield damage, despite lacking a shield damage bonus. Additionally, overcharging the move now stops damaging Dedede at 100% instead of 150%, and an overcharged strike is capable of hitting any ledge-hanging opponent, giving it a new use as an edgeguard, especially due to SSB4's new ledge mechanics.
Visually, the lighting emanating from it is much more intense, noticeably lighting up the surrounding areas, and now has sparks ejecting from the hammer. It also produces wind visuals. When charging the move, Dedede now has a grimacing facial expression and can be seen visibly sweating.
In Super Smash Bros. Ultimate[edit]
Despite Jet Hammer's buffs in the previous installment, the move has been further improved. Jet Hammer now deals higher damage both in the air (10%-27% → 11%-32%) and on the ground (11%-38% → 12%-40%). Its shield damage is now strong enough to break full shields when fully charged. The hitboxes near the handle now do equal damage as the hammer's head, removing the sourspot. Finally, Jet Hammer has 14% damage-based armor during the swing when used on the ground, from frames 1 to 14[1]. However, the armor can be used in the air through using windboxes to push Dedede offstage. This makes it a somewhat useful, albeit committal option on the ledge. While the move is still considered situational, it has been improved to become a much more devastating attack, one that can take stocks if the opponent does not react properly.
Aesthetically, the fire from Jet Hammer is now blue instead of red, and a fully charged Jet Hammer triggers Special Zoom upon hitting an opponent.
Instructional quotes[edit]
 instruction booklet |
 |
Charge up with B while walking around. Charge for too long and you'll take damage. |
 case foldout |
 |
Charge by holding  . Charging for too long hurts!
|
 Move List |
 |
Charges up his hammer for a mighty blow. Can move while charging but takes damage if charged too long. |
Customization[edit]
Special Move customization was added in Super Smash Bros. 4. These are the variations:
| 1. Jet Hammer | 2. Armored Jet Hammer | 3. Dash Jet Hammer |
|---|---|---|
 |
 |
 |
| "You can charge it while walking around, but if you charge for too long, you'll take damage." | "Charging gives you super armor, but charging fully hurts you more. Also deals less damage." | "Pushes you backward while charging, and sends you dashing forward when you attack." |
- Jet Hammer: Default.
- Armored Jet Hammer: Dedede gains super armor, in exchange for taking damage faster while doing so. It is far less effective at KOing, however, as the move has massively reduced damage and knockback, with a fully charged swing being incapable of KOing most fighters until around 150%, which an uncharged swing from the default Jet Hammer can do reliably. The ending lag is also drastically increased, to the point where if Dedede were to swing the hammer while right under the upper blast line of Battlefield, he would not be able to move until landing back on the main platform. As a result of these flaws, this attack's overall usage is heavily impractical when compared to the other Jet Hammer variants. On a side note, a glitch exists, where Dedede does not get any super armor at all while falling, even though the SpecialLwFall_C2 command suggests that he does.
- Dash Jet Hammer: The attack sends Dedede forward, but pushes him backward while at full charge. Deals much less damage and noticeably less knockback, though the knockback is still much better than that of Armored Jet Hammer's.
Origin[edit]
In some games, starting with Kirby Super Star, Kirby can perform a similar move, the Hammer Flip, when in possession of the Hammer copy ability: it consists in charging the hammer, then releasing it with a fiery upward swing.
Later games, released after Brawl, made the Hammer Flip available to King Dedede himself in his playable appearances. The jet engine inside the hammer is a Smash Bros. exclusive feature; however, King Dedede's Masked Dedede persona in Kirby Super Star Ultra (released eight months after Brawl) wields a new, electrified mechanical mallet which can shoot missiles and spew fire.
Although it should be noted that the concept of King Dedede using a hammer with jet engines was planned way before Smash and Super Star Ultra, as evident with concept art for the cancelled GameCube Kirby game showcasing an early design for a "jet hammer". Said game still has representation in the final version of Brawl, via certain Kirby trophies, notably the trophies of Golem and Fire Kirby, that use models from that game.
Gallery[edit]
Jet Hammer being held at full charge in Brawl.
Jet Hammer being released before reaching full charge in Brawl.
Released at full charge in Brawl.
A closeup of Dedede's face during Jet Hammer in Smash 4, which more clearly shows the new lighting and sweating effects.
Dedede approaching Lucario from behind with Jet Hammer in Smash 4.
Jet Hammer as shown by the Move List in Ultimate.
Names in other languages[edit]
| Language | Name |
|---|---|
 Japanese |
ジェットハンマー, Jet Hammer |
 English |
Jet Hammer |
 French |
Maillet à réaction |
 German |
Düsenhammer |
 Spanish |
Martillo a reacción |
 Italian |
Martello Jet |
 Chinese (Simplified) |
火箭锤 |
 Chinese (Traditional) |
火箭錘 |
 Korean |
제트 해머, Jet Hammer |
 Dutch |
Jethamer |
 Russian |
Реактивный молот |
Trivia[edit]
- When the game is slowed down in Brawl, it can be clearly seen that the top end of the hammer disappears before the jet pops out.
